Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei, its characters nor make any money from it

The dark forest loomed around Hisoka as he ran through the trees. He knew he had very little time to get away because his father's warriors were looking for him. He could hear the voices of the soldiers as the search the underbrush for him. If he looked over his shoulder, he could still see the glow of their torches amongst the darkness of the forest. He looked down at the bundle in his arms, he was glad, for once, that his weeks old son was sleeping deeply. His father, Lord Terazuma, had degreed that he and his son were abominations. They were to be killed on sight to appease the river god, Kawa no Kami. It was foretold that the child that Hisoka had carried would cause great devastation in the land.

A year ago, Hisoka had been kidnapped by one of the neighboring lords, Kazutaka Muraki, and held for a ransom of two thousand gold. It took his father almost seven months to get the gold that Lord Muraki wanted. Hisoka shivered at the memories of the nights in Muraki's arms. By then it was too late, Hisoka had gotten pregnant during his captivity. When his father had gotten him back, he had Hisoka checked out by one of his physicians. His father banished him to one of the temples when the physician had told him of Hisoka's condition. Hisoka just thought he had gotten fat while he was in captivity.

Hisoka stopped to catch his breath; he could hear the warriors getting closer to where he was. He looked around and spotted a small opening at the bottom of one of the trees. He ran over to the tree and knelt on the ground to look at the opening, it was just barely big enough for him to squeeze into. He placed his son on the ground and pushed him through the opening. Then he crawled in as well, pushing his baby further into the opening with each inch he gained. Once he was finally in the opening, he lifted his son into his arms. He sighed in relief when he noticed Toshiro was still sleeping. Hisoka sat him back on the ground and pulled off his kimono.

It was black and would help them keep their hiding place hidden when the warriors searched the area. Hisoka crawled over to the opening and could distinctly hear the voices of each individual warriors . He felt around the opening and found two pieces of the tree that stuck out. He draped his kimono over them and then the small hallow was engulfed in darkness. He crawled back over to Toshiro, lifted him in his arms and held him against his heart as silent tears slid down his cheeks. Hisoka could hear the warriors right outside of their hiding place. He felt Toshiro move around, he pushed aside his yukata and placed Toshiro against his breast. He sighed when he felt Toshiro's little mouth begin to suckle.

When he fed Toshiro, it was the only time Hisoka felt peace. The last three months had been hard on him, really hard. He had become a pariah in his own home and banished to live in one of the temples because of something that wasn't his fault. The night he had Toshiro, he had only been allowed one servant and he chose his late mother's nursemaid, Izumi. She had been there the night he was born and he trusted her. She was the only mother he had ever known. He thought he was going to die from the pain that night and if it wasn't for Izumi, he would have with his son along side him. He gained great respect for women because he now knew what it was like to give birth.

Once the warriors were gone from outside their hiding place, Hisoka relaxed. He didn't know what he was going to do. As long as he was on his father's land, he was marked for death. No one would help him. Then it dawned on him, Muraki might take him in. After all, Hisoka had just given birth to his son and there was no way anyone could dispute Toshiro was Muraki's because he had the same silver hair as him. Hisoka shifted Toshiro to his other breast. Muraki would love to rub it in his father's face that his only son had given birth to his enemy's child. Hisoka knew what he had to do.

***

Kazutaka Muraki was lying in his bed with his favorite concubine, Wakaba. While she was laving his cock with her talented tongue, he thought of the beautiful blond boy, Hisoka. How he wished he had just kept the boy instead of giving him back to his father, Terazuma. His thoughts were disturbed by a knock on his bedroom door.

"What do you want!" He yelled out.

His second in command, Oriya, spoke out, "My Lord, there is some blond boy at the main gates demanding to be let in."

Muraki thought about it for a second and then realized that the blond boy had to be Hisoka. He shot up off the bed, paying no mind to Wakaba's protests and quickly pulled open his bedroom door.

"Let him in, Oriya, and lead him to the main hall. I will be there in a few minutes." Muraki told him.

"Yes, my lord." Oriya said as he bowed and went to do his master's bidding.

"Kazutaka?" Wakaba asked quietly. Muraki turned around quickly, he had forgotten that she was there.

"Yes, my sweet?" he asked as he pulled on his kimono.

"Who is this blond boy you are so anxious to see?" she asked as she stood to help him tie his obi. Once she was finished, he turned and stroked a hand across her cheek.

"He's no one you need to concern yourself about, Wakaba. I want you to go back to your room until I call for you." She smiled and kissed his palm.

"Whatever you wish, Kazutaka." She pulled on her kimono and left his room.

Muraki made sure his clothing was immaculate, left his room and headed towards the main hall. When he walked into the main hall, he spotted Hisoka immediately. His wheat blond hair shimmered in the soft glow of the lanterns that lit the hall. He walked over to his chair and sat down.

"Hisoka Kurosaki, it has been awhile since I have seen you. Why have you come in the night? To barge into a man's house so late at night is a very rude thing to do." Muraki said. Hisoka drew himself up straight and walked towards Muraki.

"I had no choice in the matter. The reason why I am here concerns the both of us, Lord Muraki." he said as he drew close enough for Muraki to touch him.

"What reason is that, young one?" Muraki asked.

"This is the reason."

Muraki watched as Hisoka lifted the bundle in his arms and placed it in his lap. The bundle squirmed and Muraki grasped it so it didn't fall out of his lap. His eyes grew wide when he realized it was an infant he was holding. He pulled back the blankets from the child and gasped when he saw the infant's sliver hair. He looked up at Hisoka, he could see fear and apprehension in the boy's eyes.

"Whose child is this, young one?" Hisoka swallowed but never looked away from Muraki's mismatched gaze.

"He is mine…and yours." Hisoka said with his emerald gaze unwavering.

"That is impossible. Men do not give birth, women do."

"If I hadn't given birth to him myself then I would have to agree but I can't. If you do not believe me, Lord Muraki, then have one of your men go to my father's province. They will bring back the news of the lord's son who gave birth to the spawn of a demon. I was told earlier today that me and my son were to be sacrificed to Kawa no Kami because it was foretold that my son would bring devastation to the land. So, I ran and this was the only place I could think of."

Muraki didn't know what to say. He had heard whispered stories of men giving birth before and immediately being put to death along with their child. Muraki stood up from his seat and stepped from the dais it was upon to stand in front of Hisoka. He gently handed the infant to Hisoka. He watched as Hisoka smiled down at the child and hold him close to his body.

"What is his name, Hisoka?" Muraki asked as he stared down at the two.

"His name is Toshiro." Hisoka looked up at Muraki, his eyes full of wariness and fear. "Do you accept what I have told you here in front of your most trusted warriors, Lord Muraki?"

"Yes…for now. I will be sending out men to ascertain the truth of the matter in the morning. Have you had anything to eat, Hisoka?" Hisoka shook his head.

"Well, then I will have one of my men show you to a room and I will make sure that you have all the comforts of home. Oriya, take him to a room and make sure he has everything he needs." Oriya nodded and motioned for Hisoka to follow him. Before Hisoka left the hall, Muraki spoke again.

"Know this, Hisoka Kurosaki, if I find out that you have lied to me in any way I will have you and your child killed." Hisoka stopped, turned and stared at him, his emerald gaze unflinching.

"I know, Lord Muraki. I'm not scared because at least with you I will have a merciful death." He turned and continued to follow Oriya out of the hall.

***

Hisoka sighed in relief once he was in the room Muraki provided for him. He sat down on the floor and held Toshiro close to his body, he was glad to able to rest even if it was for a little while. He jumped when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." he said.

The door opened and five servants came into the room. Three of the servants carried a small table and trays of food. The other two carried a cradle and Hisoka almost cried when he saw it, it was beautiful. It looked to be made of Katsura wood and there were hand carved dragons on it that looked to be holding the bed between their claws. Once everything was set up, the servants left. Hisoka made his way over to the table and sat down to eat. Toshiro started to fuss so Hisoka pushed his kimono aside and placed him to his breast to feed. He was half done with his meal when the door to his room opened and Muraki walked in. Muraki stopped in mid step when he saw the infant against Hisoka's chest. He was shocked to see Hisoka feeding the child, he had come to the room to ask why Hisoka had rejected the use of a nursemaid and now he knew why.

"Hello, Lord Muraki. How may I help you?" Hisoka asked as he placed his chopsticks on top of his bowl of rice.

"I came to ask why you rejected the use of a nursemaid but my question has been answered. How did you-?" He said as he sat down on the other side of the small table.

"Grow breasts? That I do not know for sure. I didn't notice them until I had gone home from here. My nurse, Izumi, noticed them first but that was after my father had banished me to one of the temples." Hisoka said as he transferred Toshiro to his other breast. Muraki stared at them in fascination, he had never seen a woman breastfeeding before but then again Hisoka wasn't a woman either. He noticed that the infant's eyes were open and staring up at Hisoka.

"What color are his eyes?" Muraki asked quietly.

"They're strange combination of blue, silver and green. His right eye is more blue than any other color. The same blue as your right eye." Hisoka said as he smiled down at Toshiro and stroked a finger against his downy cheek.

"Is he really mine, Hisoka?" Hisoka looked up at him and nodded.

"Do you think I really would have come here if he wasn't?"

"I don't know what to think. You left here three months ago and now you're back claming that this child is mine."

"Lord Muraki, I would never lie about something as big as this. After I returned home, my father had me checked out by his physician. He is the one who told me I was pregnant, I thought I was just getting fat. The first month of my exile was my hardest because I couldn't accept my pregnancy. Then after while, I grew to love my baby even when no one else did. I was spit on and called an abomination whenever someone from the main household saw me. Do you know what that's like, my lord?" Hisoka watched as Muraki lifted a hand to his blue eye.

"Yes, I know how that feels…intimately. Well, I will leave you two alone. Goodnight, Hisoka." Muraki slowly got up and left from the room. Hisoka knew it was going to be a long day tomorrow.